Method of and apparatus for handling welting



Sept. 8. 1925 1,552,588

G. E. WARREN METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR HANDLING WELTING Original Filed June 27, 1919 2, Sheets-Sheet L 1 w .s-s haelzifiz saomvw Sept. 8. 1925. 1,552,588

G. E. WARREN METHOD OF AND APPAKATUS FOR HANDLING WELTING Original Fil June 27. .1919 2 Sheets-$11961 2 Patented Sept 155925,

UNITED STATES MACHINERY CORPORATION, 015 E TERSON, JERSEY, A Q IB IOBATION OF NEW JERSEY.

METHOD or AND APPARAT S FOR HANDLING WELTING.

Application filed June 27, 1919, Serial No. 307,129, Renewed September 14, 1923.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, GEORGE E. WARREN, a citizen of the United States, residing. at Swampscott, in the county of Essex and State of Massachusetts, have invented cer tain new and useful Improvements Methods of and Apparatus for'I-Iandling Velting; and I do hereby declare the fol lowing to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

This invention relates to a method of handling stock such as welting in the manufacture of shoes. The invention also relates to apparatus for use in carrying out the above-mentioned methodand to an improved article of manufacture resulting from the practice of saidmethod.

The invention is described as practiced in the manufacture of shoes of the class generally known in the art as Goodyear welted shoes. The invention, however, is not to be regarded as limited in its application to the manufacture of this particular class of articles but it may be employed with adi 'antage in the manufacture of leather goods of other classes.

In the ordinary method of handling leather stock such as welting prior to its incorporation in the shoe followed in the numufactnre of Goodyear welted shoes, a length of welting consisting usually of substantially 20 yards is laid in a coil or hank and is tied up in this form for storage or transportation. It is customary to transport these hanks in an uncovered condition in which the welting is subject to soiling and injury. When the welting is to be used a days supply consisting of several banks or coils is issued to the welt sewing machine operator. Before use the hanks are immersed in water and when they have soaked sufficiently the surplus water is drained oil and the hanks are then placed on the bench or on the floor behind the machine and the leading end of one of the hanks is inserted in the welt guide of the machine' Each of these hanks contains sufficient welting for sewing about twenty pairs of shoes of medium size. hen the hank from which the welt s being drawn nearly exhausted PATENT OFF-ICE.

GEORGE E. WARREN, OF SWAMPSCOTT, MASSACHUSETTS, ASSIGNOR TO UNITED SHOE- so that there is not enough welting to sew another shoe it is necessary either to splice the end of another hank to the part ofthe hank left'in the machine or to remove the.

short length of the first hankfrom the machine and insert the leading end of another hank in the weltguide. In handling welting as well as in handling various other kinds of leather stock which, to-a-void con-- fusion, are handled in relatively small quantities, the lack of any means heretofore to prevent the tempered stock from. drying out before use has been a serious disadvantage.

Obviously when, welting designed to be used in the manufacture of shoes, such as Goodyear welt shoes, is handled in the manner above indicated, the welting applied to successive shoes will vary greatly in condi.tion.. The welting which is first used will usuallybe excessively wet, after which its condition may improve asthe water dries from the surface and permeates more evenly the body of the welting, and later it will dry out and become relatively stiff. The

7 condition of the welting is a very material factorin the production obtained from the parts of the welting may interfere with or prevent the proper formation of the seam orthe proper attachment of the welting-to the shoes and thus result in imperfections in the finished shoes.

When the welting is spliced by the operator the splicing requires considerable skill and care and is often improperly done causing imperfect .work. In. cases where c the welting is not spliced the short lengths of welting containing less than enough for a single shoe left at the end of each hank are usually wasted, thereby adding considerably to the expense of. manuf aoture.

In view of the foregoing, one object of I the present invention is to provide a method V produce apparatus which may be advan tageously employed in carrying out the method above referred to.

A still further object of the invention is. to provide amass ofwelting so arranged and retained in mass formation as tofacilitatje treating and handlii'igfof the mass'and subsequent use of the welting';

' With these objects in view theinvention. consists in the method, the apparatus and",

the article hereinafter described and particularly definediin' the claims.

T iei e t on will be r d y nder t d? frorn'the following description taken in con.-

et 'on ith he a ompa yin d awings in. which Fig; rise view i l from elevation' of a welt grooving: and beveling; machine adapted ,fbr' use in" practising,therinvention 'Fig; 2" is a view front" elevation on:

' somewhat largerscaleofthe lowerportion h ndling stgriI'p oftjheemachinesh w in Fig lQcFig. 3' is-a detall" view in sect onal eleVatiOH of the. bag

holder with which the; weltl grooving and.

bevelling; machine isprovid'ed'; Fig. 4* is a viewin side elevation-partly inusection ofan apparatus which may be 1 used 7 in practising the nvention and"F1g. 5., 1s a v ew llliSlClS elevation of a package, of welting' produced by ithe appara us l trated' i1 Figs. l nd 2 and which is used; practising the in ventionr c In the present method; when applied in Stock sashe welting, a. strand, of we ting preferably of Consider, able length a arran ed" in" a 7 1514 1 0131 or mass so that. it will.v run freelytherefrom without twist n'gwhen withdrawnprogressively from v the same, and. the nl ssflof: welting is en? velopedi by: a burlap; Or other fabric bag; or covering The mass of welti rg: prefer ably consists ofseveral 'splicedlengths forming a continuous strand'long"enough to last for several hours sewing Eorexample, the

strandm'ay be 300' yards in length which-is usually enough-li er an average days f, the sewing machine. While the. melting in the mass maycons1st.. of a lfrankv having regu arranged coils, provided that the Welt? mg all-11mm. the. ame withputtangling, twisting and with very: little resistanceh n progres ively Withdr wn, i p

ferredthat' the mass shall. have no. definite or regular a angement .o t. coilsbut that the welltrng .themass; shall be looselyar-- ranged to allow. the. moistening liquid; to.-

p lne ratelthemas reedi y. nid rt at h m s hell hesnbstentiellr.lismogena us through:

out so that it will not collapse during subsequent handling. The mass of welting may be initially arranged within a container such as alarge. can having a definite form which will facilitate the transfer of the welting therefrom without disarrangement fabric bag. Preferably, howeverfthe coil or mass of welting is delivered progressively into the fabric bag so as to form the coil or ma'ss'of'welting initially therein Fhg si IL 2-, and 3v show.,an apparatus or mechanism which may be employed advantageously in thus arranging the strand of welting in a; mass within the fabric bag, This apparatus asillustrated is embodied in a melt grooving and bevelling machine of the type, illustrated and described in the applicationofAlfrecl Morrill, Ser. N0.

' lsaoiefiled March. 7, 1917., Patent No. 1309 583 dated July 3,, 1919, so. that the welting is delivered progressively, into the bag-as it comes fromthe welt groovingand bevelling mechanism. The welt grooving fland beve ling, mechanism of the machine- .illustratledi has the same construction and mode of. operation as ithe corresponding mechanism: of the machine illustrated in said patent. The machine isprovidedwith W011i; supportingand) feeding rolls indicated respectively 2. and 4:" which are driven.- I through suitable conneotionsfrom the main driving shaft- 5. The welting is delivered by the rolls; 2' and 4- toa; welting guide 6 mounted to rotate on a-verticalaXiswi-thin the hollowpedestal 8 forming part of the frame of; the machine. The driving connectionsefor the eveltin g' guide-6 comprise a:

bevel gear LOsecured .to the upper end of the guide-and a bevel gear 12meshing with the bevel gear 10 and driven from-the main shafts through suitable gearing.

The pedestal .8- is mounted on a stand 14L provided with-upright support-s or legs 16. Betweenthelegsof the ,stand' is secured a bag; holder: 18' consistingof- .asheet metal cylinder adapted to be inserted in the mouth of-thebag; Theb-ag; forthe reception of thelwelting whgiohwis indicated at 20in the clrgwving is placed between the Iegsof'thestand ,14; an the upper: end of the bag is drawnouer th'e lower endof the bag holder so thatgthebag-holder will holdthe mouth of the bag distended Lnorderto hoild the bag position on the bag holder a. series of sprin clips- 22 are securedfto thc bag-V holder beneath which the upper margin. of

the bag may be inserted. Withathisa-construction as the welting isdellivered' progres sively to the weltin-g guide by the. work supporting and feeding rolls2' 212,11Cl5.-4c', the welt mg guide will deposit the 'welting with= 1n the bag? in amass without: definite .or reg= andw hanv ran r nto. a burlap. or oth e ular arrangement-0f coils but givinga twist-- to the melt ng duri g each revolution otather guide so that the welting will run freely from the mass without tangling or twisting as it is withdrawn progressively therefrom.

Suitable material other than burlap may beused as a container or wrapper for the welting provided that it is adaptable for the further steps of the method, and the wrapping need be in the form of a bag only for convenience. The bag may well be of such a size that the coil or mass of welting fits closely therein so that the bag adequately restrains the welting from disarrangement. After the welting is placed in the bag the mouth of the bag is preferably securely closed so that the welting will be fully protected by the bag during storage or transportation. In order to enable the leading end of the welting to be found readily and without disarrangement of the mass of welting when the bag is opened, the leading end of the welting is located in a predetermined, readily accessible position and is secured in position before or at the time that the bag is closed. Preferably the leading end of the welting istied up in the mouth of the bag as illustrated in Fig. 5 which shows a bag of welting ready for storage, shipment or other handling.

Several hours before the welting is to be used the coil or mass of welting within the bag is wet, preferably by immersing the bag withthe welting therein in water. Then after draining off the surplus water, the bag of welting is set aside and the welting allowed to mull within the bag, the bag restricting the circulation of air through the welting and protecting it from surface drying. At the end of a few hours the water will have uniformly penetrated the entire body of the welting, producing a thoroughly mulled and cheesy condition. When in this condition the welting can be readily pierced by the sewing needle without tearing the fibres of the leather, and can be readily shaped as required in attaching the same to the shoe. The welting is preferably maintained in the bag until it is incorporated in shoes and may thus be kept substantially unchanged in temper for a considerable period.

lVhen the welting in the bag is to be used, the bag with the welting therein is placed in a position convenient to the sewing machine, the bag is opened and the leading end of the welting is inserted in the welt guide of the sewing machine. In order to restrict the circulation of air about the bag and thereby prevent rapid drying of the bag and the contained welting, the bag of welting is preferably inserted before use in a con tainer such as a covered can from which the welting may be withdrawn progressively, while the bag with the mass of welting therein continues to be protected by the container. Fig. illustrates a container wh ch the bag of Welting While it is being used. As illustrated in this figure; the container comprises a cylindrical can 24 for the reception of the bag of welting having a tapered cover 26 formed at its upper end with an opening 28 for the passage of the Welting. The height of the can 24 is preferably such that the upper portion of the bag may be turned back over the rim of the can, as shown in Fig. 4, and the lower portion of the cover is arranged to extend within the bag and is formed with an out wardly projecting flange or shoulder 30 arranged to rest on the bag at the point where the bag passes over the rim of the can to hold the bag in place. 1

hen the welting is treated in accord ance with the process above described the welting will be in a uniformly and properly tempered condition when delivered to the sewing mechanism. and having been pro tected by the bag from disarrangementand herein, it being the subject-matter of a di R visional application, Serial No. 435,911, filed Jan. 8, 1921.

This method of handling welting enables the same to be put up, and used in relatively large hanks or masses,'thereby avoiding the frequent delays incident to ordinary methods in which the operator has to replenish or splice the welt after sewing a relatively small number of shoes. It has hereto-fore been impracticable to handle welt in large hanks on account of the disarrangement of the same produced during transportation, dipping, draining and other handling prior to its use, which results in tangles and snarls when the welt is withdrawn from the hand. The present method also eliminates practically all wastage of welting and there are obviously no imperfect splicings in the welt such as occur in the ordinary methods.

The above method obviously is not limited in its application to the treatment of welting but it may be employed with advantage in the treatment of stock of various kinds used in shoe manufacture. It is there fore to be understood that the term Welting where employed .in the claims is not to be construed in a restricted sense but that this stock than true welt ng.

II ying explained the, nature and object of invention, and having fully described;

q naa i whatis. claimed is:

l, Tlgi atimpmovement in the art of -making; shoes which consists in arranging a lengtlrotwelting lllyit mass; so that it will in which it may be applied,

' rim-freely therefrom withouttwisting, surroundin the mass of welting by a fabric wrapping, wetting the wrapped welt-ing,

maintaining the welting. in the fabric wrapping, while the welting mulls, and with-. draw-ingthewelting progressively from the. massfor use w-l ;le the remaining portion of said mass continnes to be protected by the, fabric wra-ppin '.v

2. That improvement in the art of making shoes which consists in arranging a, length 7 of welti-ng in a mass so that it will run fit freely; therefrom, without; twisting, sur-w rounding the mass of welting by a fabric wrapping,.l wetting the. wrapped welting, maintainingvthewelting in the fabric wrap, ping while; the welting mulls, placingthe mulled: elting in a casing and withdraw.-

ing the welting; progressively for use while the remaining portion thereof continues to.

b e-protected by the casing,

3; That improvement in the art of makin shoes which consists inarranging a length of welting, in a mass so that it willrun freely therefrom withouttwisting, surroundv ing themass of welting by a fabric wrapping, and wettingthe fabric wrapping and the inass of. welting therein,

4. That improvementiinthe art of making shoes which consists in arranging a length of welting in a massin a. container so that it will run freely from the stationary. mass without twisting, and applying a tempering fluid to the welting and maintaining it in' shoes which consists in arranging a. length.

of welting in a. mass so that it. will run freely therefrom without. twisting, maintaining the welting while ina wetted condition in a fabric wrapping tocause the same, to mull, placing the mulled'welting in a cas: ing, and withdrawing the same progressively for use while. the remainder of the mass of' weltingcontinnes: to be protected 7 bv the casing.

U n L 1 c I, That 1mpr0ve1nent-.;intne oi nt-akin and withdrawing the welting 1,5553, see,

of waiting inner-mass so that it will run. freely from the stationary. mass withouttwisting, surrounding the mass of welting by a fabric wrapping,tempering it. and: withdrawing it progressively. fromthe mass.

for use while the remaining portionof said;

shoes which consistsin' arranging a length shoes which consists in enclosingamass of welting in an circulation restricting container, and maintaining the same in the con tainer while the. welting isbeing wett ed and; while it mulls, and Withdrawing it.- progressively for use while the remaining portion continues to be protected by the container 10. That improvement in the art of making shoes which consists in placing a mass of welting in a container permeable to a moistening liquid, immersing the container with the welting therein in the moisteni-ng liquid, and maintaining the welting' in the" container while the weltin'g mulls.

11 That improvementin theart of making shoes which consists in arranging a length ofwelting in a mass, so that it. will run freely therefrom without twisting, surrounding the mass ofwelting by a fabric wrapping, wetting the wrapped welting, maintaining the weltingin the fabric wrap,-

' ping while the welting mulls, placing the welting withthe wrapping thereon in a casing, and withdrawing thewelti-ng progresr sively for use while the remaining portion continues to be protected by. the fabricwrapping andby. the casing. r

12. That improvement in theartof making shoes which consists in arranging a length of welting in a mass so that it will wetup readily and will run freely there from without 'twistingwithin a coarse, fab-1 ric container, maintaining the weltingswithin the container until it is tobe used, and withdrawing the same. from the container progressively for use.

13. That improvement. in the artofmak ing shoes which consists in arranging a mass of welting within a coarsefabriccontainer, wetting and mulling the welting within the container, and withdrawing the welting' progressively from the container for use.

li. An apparatus for use in handling.

'welting. having, in combination, welt preparing means, abag holder arranged to hold a bag with its mouth distended, and means for delivering a strand of welting progressively from said preparing means into the bag so that the welting will runfreely from the stationary mass without twisting when progressively withdrawn.

15. An apparatus for use in handling welting having, in combination, welt-grooving and beveling means, a hollow cylindrical bag holder arranged for insertion in the mouth of a bag to hold the bag with its mouth distended, devices for holding the margin of the bag in position with relation to the bag holder, and means for deliverlng a strand of welting progressively from said grooving and beveling means through the bag holder into the bag so that the welting will run freely from the stationary mass without twisting when progressively withdrawn.

16. An apparatus for use in handling welting having, in combination, a hollow cylindrical bag holder for insertion in the mouth of a bag to hold the bag with its mouth distended, devices for holding the margin of the bag in position with relation to the bag holder, a welting guide arranged to rotate on an aXis substantially coincident with the axis of the bag holder, and means for delivering the welting progressively to the welting guide.

17. That method of making articles of leather which comprises the steps of placing the leather in a permeable receptacle, tempering it by dipping the receptacle with its contents in a tempering liquid, and then withdrawing the leather as required for use.

18. That method of making articles of leather which comprises the steps of preparing leather stock for use in making the articles, placing it in a receptacle which permits access of a tempering fluid to the stock but which prevents such a circulation of air as might dry out stock therein and which protects the stock during shipment and other handling, tempering the stock by applying a tempering fluid to stock in the receptacle, and allowing the receptacle to stand while the stock mulls.

19. That method of making articles of leather which comprises the steps of preparing leather stock for use in making the articles, placing it in a receptacle which prevents such a circulation of air as might dry out stock therein and which protects the stock during shipment and other handling, tempering the stock by applying a tempering fluid to stock in the receptacle, allowing the receptacle to stand while the stock mulls, and withdrawing the stock as required for use while leaving the remainder in the receptacle to prevent drying out.

20. A package adapted for shipment and subsequent handling comprising leather stock prepared and arranged for use, and a protective. covering therefor in the form of a receptacle permitting access of a tempering fluid but preventing such a circulation of air as would dry out stock tempered in the receptacle. v

21. As an'article of manufacture, awrapping of material permeable to moisture, and a length of welting arranged within the wrapping and/having one'end thereof arranged in a definite position with relation to the wrapping.

22. As an article of manufacture, a wrapping of material permeable to moisture, and a length of welting arranged Within the wrapping to permit the welting to be freely withdrawn progressively from the Wrapping without twistin 23. As an artlcle of manufacture, a wrapping of material permeable to moisture, and a length of welting arranged within the wrapping and having one end projecting through an opening in the wrapping.

2A. As an article of manufacture, a fabric bag, and a length of welting arranged within the bag and having one end projecting through the mouth of the bag, the material at the mouth of the bag being tied about said end of the welting to hold it in place.

2-5. That improvement in the art of making shoes which consists in coiling a length of welting within a fabric bag, and securing the leading end of the welting in a predetermined readily accessible position.

26. That improvement in the art of making shoes which consists in feeding a strip of welting progressively into the open mouth of a bag, tying up the leading end of the welting in the mouth of the bag, and closing the mouth of the bag.

27. That improvement in the art of making shoes which consists in arranging a length of welting in a loose irregular coil within a bag, and securing the leading end of the welting in a predetermined, readily accessible position.

28. As an article of manufacture, a length of welting arranged in a mass so that it Will run freely therefrom without twisting, and a fabric wrapping therefor.

29. As an article of manufacture, a fabric bag, and a length of welting arranged in mass formation within the bag and having one end projecting through an opening in the bag.

80. As an article of manufacture, a fabric. bag, and a length of welting arranged in irregularly coiled formation within the bag and having one end projecting through the mouth of the bag, the material at the mouth of the bag being tied about said end of the welting to hold it in place.

31. That improvement in the art of making shoes which consists in feeding a strip of welting into the mouth of an open bag, twisting the welting strip as it is being fed,

. tyingup the lad-ing and 6f the welt-mg iin the 11110111311 of the bagy-arid closing the "mouth ofthebag;

' i-gsgmss fd So that it will arrange 'itse-lfii i loose GEORGEQE, WARREN; 

